


shake your hand, tear my heart in two (half my life belongs to you)

by Dusty_Skyes



Series: Land, Sea, and Sky [9]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: AU - Everyone lives, M/M, just communicate already dammit, kass stop, teba stop, why can't you be like revali and sidon?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-12 03:10:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10480785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusty_Skyes/pseuds/Dusty_Skyes
Summary: It begins with the impending loss of a loved one.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Once again I am here to bring more angst. I swear, these two will get together sometime within the next century. 
> 
> Title comes from the poem "He would not stay for me" by A. E. Housman.

     It begins with the impending loss of a loved one. Kass' heart threatens to break in two.

     (It already has. Teba holds half of his heart and Kass doesn't want it back.)

     When they step into the main area of the Zora's Domain, Kass isn't expecting much and turns to head towards the Halls of Healing used by the guards, but the red Zora laughs and starts towards the palace. “Come!” he calls back, Teba's unconscious form cradled in his arms, “this way!” and walks towards the doors.

     Disbelieving, because the royal healers probably won't even glance in their direction, Kass follows him to the doors. Instead of being blocked like he expects, the guards let them by without a word, and the Zora practically bounces down the halls. The Rito beside him, the one with feathers as blue as the deep sea, huffs a laugh of vague amusement, and gives Kass a smirk. “See? I told you your lover would be fine.”

     Kass stumbles, the blue feathers across his face flushing deep red. “Teba's not my lover!” he practically shrieks.

     A single, golden-feathered brow rises slowly. “But you _are_ in love with him, no?”

     He could deny it. “I...” Kass breathes in slowly and tries again. “I...”

     “That's a yes, then. Have you not told him?”

     The blue-feathered Rito slumps. “He's not interested in me,” he finally says, quietly enough that he barely hears himself speak. “I'm not very strong, nor am I much of a fighter. He doesn't like my music or the books I read.” The other one blinks at him, then at the single stone trinket at the end of one of Kass' braids.

     “Where did you get that?” they finally ask.

     “Huh?” Kass reaches up to find what the other is looking at, pausing when his wing-tips brush against the pretty, sparkling stone trinket that winds around braided feathers. Truthfully, he _doesn't_ know where he got it. “It was in my box of trinkets one morning and it was so pretty that I had to put it in. Why?”

     “The stone in that trinket can only be found in the Zora's Domain. See?” The other turns and shows off his own braids, and Kass can see the four stones that line the ends of the intricately done feathers. “My lover did them for me.”

     For a moment Kass is sideswiped by the image of Teba doing his braids for him, then shakes it off and gives the other a shaky smile. For a while he is silent, just following the large, red Zora as he hurries down a hall. Eventually he asks, “Where are we going?”

     “Here,” the red Zora says, then shifts an arm to rap sharply on the door of the royal Healing Halls. “Mipha! Are you in?” he calls through the door, and Kass can feel his heart drop. Everyone knows the story of Princess Mipha, Champion of Vah Ruta. He's certain that she's dead, though. Perhaps it's someone else?

     “By the Goddess, Sidon. What in Din's Fire do you want?” And that is apparently Prince Sidon. Kass sways a little at the thought and has to support himself on the deep-blue-feathered Rito beside him. He and Teba were just rescued by _royalty._

     The door opens and a pretty Zora female steps out. It's definitely _the_ Princess Mipha. Kass' eyes go huge. He has so many questions he wants to ask, but she takes one look at the bloody Rito in her brother's arms and immediately takes charge. “Place him on a bed, I'm going to get my supplies.” She vanishes into a back room and Sidon steps in, gingerly settling Teba onto the white cot.

     “He'll be fine!” Prince Sidon says cheerfully. “My sister will heal him in no time.” He turns to the Rito with the four braids and grins widely. “Right, Revali?”

     For the third time in five minutes, Kass' universe drops out from below his feet. _“You're_ Revali _?”_ he trills, accidentally slipping into the ancient tongue in his surprise. _“Like,_ the _Revali? The Champion of the Divine Beast Vah Medoh?”_

     Revali flips his braids and smirks. _“The one, the only,”_ he returns haughtily; he's perfectly fluent, because why wouldn't he be? Sidon pads over on silent feet and now that Kass is somewhat calmer, he can't help but gawk at the other's size. Revali stands at about six feet, but the Zora prince _towers_ over him by at least two heads. That makes him eight feet tall.

     “Oh!” the Zora exclaims, then reaches out to tap a braid by Kass' face. The blue-feathered Rito trills in the ancient tongue, backing away instantly, and Sidon pauses. “Sorry,” he apologizes. “I recognized the stone ending one of your braids.”

     Kass relaxes. “Oh?” he asks.

     “They're Sea Gems. You must have gotten one of the trinkets after I gave the shards to the lady manning the store in Rito Village.” Seeing the blank expression on Kass' face, he expands on his statement. “A while back, Revali lost one of his braids in a fight. I brought the remains of a Zora's Domain Sea Gem decoration to her and asked if she would make me some trinkets. When she did, I paid for four and let her sell the remaining ones. You must have gotten one after I left.”

     “It was given to him, little sea,” Revali says, bemusedly.

     Prince Sidon's face spasms strangely. “I wish you never learned my sister's childhood nickname for me,” he bemoans, then drops his head into his hands.

     Kass' beak twitches in a smile and he offers, “If it helps, Revali was known among the Rito as 'Little Wing' when he was younger for his exceptional flying skills.”

     Revali looks horrified. “Why you little,” he begins, hissing the words dangerously, and Prince Sidon reaches over, clamps his beak shut, and beams at the now scowling Rito.

     “Now, Revali, love, don't be rude to our guests,” the Zora says and presses his face against a feathered cheek. Kass can see the red cheek-feathers there spreading across Revali's face.

     The blue-feathered Rito splutters for a few seconds, trying and failing to put together a sentence. “You two are together?” he finally manages.

     “Got a problem?” Revali asks, eyes narrowed into two thin slits.

     “How does that even _work?_ He's like two feet taller than you!”

     There's silence for a moment before Prince Sidon starts laughing and even Revali joins in. “To be honest, I thought you were going to start in on how different our species are.” The Zora prince hums in amusement, his shark tail wagging from side to side.

     Kass stares at it as it moves. “Why would I care about that? And, can you move _all_ of the muscles in that?”

     Prince Sidon reaches up to touch it. “What, this? Yes.”

     Behind them, the glow of healing fills the room and attracts his attention, and Kass turns to see Princess Mipha singing softly as she seals Teba's wound over. It's such a smooth process, so much better than both his and Prince Sidon's work combined, and relief blooms hot in Kass' chest. “See?” Prince Sidon says, “I told you he'd be fine.”

     “I... Thank you so much, Prince Sidon,” Kass whispers. He won't lose Teba. Not today.

     The Zora Prince laughs. “Just Sidon is fine.” Then his gaze hardens, his face losing the jolly smile. “Now, what can you tell me about the Corrupted Zora?”

     “The what?”

     “The Corrupted Zora,” Revali says. “The creature that attacked you back in the forest.”

     “Oh.” Kass thinks back to the fight. “It knew I was the weaker of us two. There's a gem on its forehead that glows, almost like a lure. It was really sparkly and pretty and the urge to get a closer look was terrifying.”

     Revali scowls and looks away. “Oh, that's just _wonderful_ ,” he mutters. “Sometimes I really hate the Rito love for all things shiny.”

     Kass gawks. “You've never seen its lure?” he asks, somewhat disbelievingly.

     “We've always chased it off quickly,” Sidon explains. “So we've never had a chance to see the lure. But whatever happened, it used to be a Zora, so we're very reluctant to kill it.”

     “It seems tainted,” Kass points out.

     “We noted that, too.” This time it's Mipha who answers, and she walks over to join them. “There's an orange taint in its blood. The few times I've fought the Corrupted Zora, it seemed like it was in a lot of pain.” She grabs an empty glass off a nearby table and fills it from a pitcher, slugging it back like it's a shot of alcohol. “On the subject of healing, your Rito friend is fine. He should wake up soon, but his body lost a lot of blood, so he'll be pretty weak for a while.”

     Kass relaxes. “That's good. We've been friends for years and I don't know what I'd do without his sarcasm.” He pauses before supplying, “He took that blow for me. The Corrupted Zora was going to kill me, but he threw me out of the way and took it himself.”

     “A horrible wound,” Sidon add. “This one here managed to seal a good chunk of it, despite not being practiced in healing large wounds. It took the both of us to get it halfway closed.”

     For a second Kass blinks, then blanches when he realizes that he never introduced himself. “I'm such an idiot. My name is Kass. That birdbrain over there is Teba. He was supposed to be my bodyguard while I am traveling since I'm not much of a fighter, but he seems to spend all of his time getting injured.”

     The four of them laugh and Kass sobers a little. “I suppose I'll end up getting a room at the inn,” he sighs.

     Sidon _beams_. “Nonsense. You can stay here in the palace. We have many rooms.”

     “Oh,” Kass says, then slowly smiles back. “If that is all right, then I'd be happy to.”

(He means it, too.)

**oOo**

     Teba comes to with a groan. His chest stings in a way that says 'recently healed injury' and he reaches down to touch it, wincing slightly as his wing-tips brush against sore skin. It seems to be closed all the way, but something of this severity isn't to be messed with. The feathers there have been carefully removed from around the gash, plucked out completely so as to not infect the wound, and he's really looking forward to when they grow back in. He can feel small pinpoints forming, the itchy sensation telling him that the new feathers are already starting to come in. Within a week or so, it will be like they had never been removed at all, all white and beautiful. He pokes the wound again, wondering about the creature that he had fought in the woods.

     What was that thing, anyway? It looked like a Zora; probably _would_ be a Zora if it wasn't for the translucent skin and the orange taint coursing through its veins. Honestly, Teba had felt nauseous just being in the damn thing's presence. That shiny, glowing lure was unfair, too. And that's not even mentioning the rings of orange that ran down its fins, the ones that flashed bright enough to hurt his eyes. That damn creature seemed to think itself at the top of the food chain and Teba did not like the fact that he fell below a fish.

     He scowls and idly vows to hunt the damn thing down for ever trying to hurt Kass.

     “Oh good, you're awake.” He glances over, blinking at the sight of a pretty Zora, then grunts in annoyance. Her eyes narrow just slightly. “I will take that as a 'good morning' and move on.”

     The white-feathered Rito grunts again and pokes at the wound crossing his chest. He's grouchy and bitchy and has exactly zero caffeine in his system, and he doesn't want to deal with this right now. The Zora sighs and reaches over to slap his hand away. “Don't poke at it. Despite being sealed, the flesh is still tender and will split easily.”

     Teba scowls, but stops poking at his wound. There's a knock at the door and then it opens, Kass curiously poking his head into the room. At the sight of Teba awake, his eyes grow huge. The Zora smiles. “I'll leave you two alone,” she says, and then slips out.

     Kass stalks over to the bed and looms above Teba. “What were you _thinking_?” he hisses, once again furious with the white-feathered Rito.

     It's probably a mistake, but Teba points out, “You wanted me to be your bodyguard,” anyway.

     A thunderous expression descends across Kass' face and the blue-feathered Rito snarls, clacking his beak together violently and in a way that is grinding teeth together on anyone else. He must be trying to reel in his temper and Teba tries not to twitch. Despite not being a fighter, Kass has a mean right hook and the white-feathered Rito isn't really keen on experiencing it again. “That does not mean I want you to sacrifice yourself!” he nearly shrieks, some of the words bordering on the edge of slipping into the ancient tongue. Teba winces a little.

     “I'm sorry?” he offers, even though he's really not. Teba lives for the fight.

     Kass' face does something that he can't quite make out. “No,” he says eventually, “no, you're not,” and Teba doesn't try to refute him.

(He knows it won't do any good.)

 


End file.
